Homily for Epiphany 2017 - Sunday 8th Jan 2017
Readings:
Is 60: 1-6
Eph 3:1-12
Mt 2:1-12
May I speak in the Name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Amen.
Today we are celebrate the feast of the Epiphany, but what exactly does the word ‘epiphany’ mean? It comes from the Greek word ‘epiphainein it literally means ‘reveal’ or ‘manifestation. It has entered the English language with the well known saying “an Epiphany moment”1.
The Franciscan Priest and Theologian Richard Rohr says:
“An epiphany is an experience that transforms everything, and before you can do anything with it, it does something to you. It’s not something that can be controlled,
and it always seems to demand a change in people‘s lives2”.
For us as followers of Christ, Epiphany, means the the manifestation of the light of Christ to the Gentiles, as represented by the Magi3,
in Matthew’s Gospel. He spells out how they followed the Bethleham star to find the Holy Family and to worship Jesus. The Magi were gentiles, a first sign that Jesus came for all, Jew and Gentile alike.
Matthew in today’s gospel, doesn’t describe the Magi as King, rather as Wise Men. The words of Psalm 72-10 & 11, echo this “The kings of Arabia and Saba will offer gifts; all kings will bow down before him4”
By the sixth century, the wise men had been given names and descriptions, often seen in artistic representations. One is named Caspar, meaning “Treasurer,” and is imagined as a beardless young man. Melchior means “King of Light,” or “King of the City,” and is portrayed as a bearded old man. Balthasar means “God protect the king,” is portrayed as a black African man5.
The well know hymn “We three Kings of Orient Are’, written by John Henry Hopkins in 1857, was perhaps an extension of this sort of tradition6.
I have even seen the story of them following the Star described as “The Original Star Trek7”.
The Magi were astrologers from the royal court of the king of Persia. Their role was as ‘seers’ for the King of Persia, but here in Matthew’s narrative, they
come to honour another king - Jesus.
Kings would often send congratulations to new rulers in other realms, but the king of Persia called himself "king of kings," that is, the highest of kings8.
Although we see in the book of Daniel’ Daniel telling that King that:
"No wise man, enchanter, magician or diviner can explain to the king the mystery he has asked about”. (ie, the Mystery of God).
Artaxerxes, Persian king of kings, wrote to the prophet Ezra as the the “priest, teacher of the Law of the God of heaven9”. Acknowledging that there was something greater than himself in the scheme of things.
Expecting to find the King in a palace, in Jerusalem, The Magi found only Herod.10 He sent them, for his own reasons,
to Bethleham. There they found Jesus, not in a palace, but in a Stable, the humblest of births. A sign that Jesus came to minister to the lowest not highest in our society.
The Magi, although Gentiles, recognised Jesus’ Divinity. They worshiped and offered their gifts – gold, for a king; frankincense, to honor his divinity; myrrh, because
this divine king will die and myrrh is used to anoint the body of a king. The wise men achieved their goal: worshipping the true king of the Jews - they were the first of all the gentiles, through the generations and throughout
the world, to worship Jesus Christ.
How is the prophet Isiah speaking to us today?
60 Arise, shine; for your light has come,
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.2 For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.3 Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you.2 For darkness shall cover the earth,
and thick darkness the peoples;
but the Lord will arise upon you,
and his glory will appear over you.3 Nations shall come to your light,
and kings to the brightness of your dawn.
In this reading from Isiah, we see the prelude to Jesus’s coming. The prophet speaks God’s powerful words to a nation that had been permitted by the Persian King Darius.
to return from subjection in exile in Babylon, but they are still living in darkness. The prophet seeks rouse them, to rally them to live in God’s coming light - it responds to their hope for the Restoration of Jerusalem,
to restore it’s Glory and to make a home for all of God’s people.
What can we take away today?
We can see the light of the Glory of God through Jesus, through the Gentile Magi, worshiping Jesus. Can we shine as we are urged by Isiah.
“Shine for your light has come”.
Our shining takes effort, there is so much to distract us, and dim our light. We need patience and perseverance to allow our light to shine. It does
seem to me that the witness of a Christian life transformed by Jesus’ love, can allow the light to shine and flourish within us and to cascade out to others.
Celebrating Epiphany helps us appreciate more fully the meaning of Christ's birth and help us rediscover what worshiping Christ means to us individually and as a worshiping
community.
Canon Kathryn Fleming, Canon Pastor at Coventry Cathedral wrote11:
“So, as you go forward into this new year, be alert to celebrate epiphany wherever you encounter God. It won't be just in this building, that's for sure...nor
simply at the the high moments of life, In all times and places and people, even the most ordinary, even in our own lives, we may come to experience the glory of God through Jesus Christ”
Finally the words of John’s Gospel that we heard at Christmas
“What has come into being in him was life, and the life was the light of all people. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it12”.
Amen
1 an appearance or manifestation especially of a divine being https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/epiphany
2 http://goodinparts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/epiphany-evensong-sermon-for-all-saints.html accessed 2/1
3 Mat 2:1-12
4 Psalm 72, verse 10:11
6 RH Morgan, Come Let Us Adore Him: Stories Behind the Most cherished Christmas Hymns (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2005), 81.
7 http://www.crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-leadership/how-zoroastrian-magi-made-the-original-star-trek-11639937.html
8 Dan 2:37
9 Exra 7:12
10 Matt 2:2
11 http://goodinparts.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/epiphany-evensong-sermon-for-all-saints.html
12 John 1:1-3
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